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A comment on The pandemic has eroded democracy and respect for human rights. Parent comment

Re:The pandemic has eroded democracy and respect for human r... by nemo44x on Sunday October 18, 2020 @08:41AM (#24817409)
I haven’t really understood the certain praise the EU has received by the USA media. The EU as a whole is similar to the USA and has done just as good/bad as the USA. Similar number of deaths. The USA has more cases but I suspect the EU has just not tested as much previously. There’s no reason to suspect the EU would have a higher death rate (USA has more confirmed cases but fewer deaths$. But today EU case totals are higher (much higher recently but I suspect the USA is just lagging a bit) or about the same as the USA which makes sense since both places are doing massive amounts of testing.
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Re:The pandemic has eroded democracy and respect for human r... by whimsicalism on Sunday October 18, 2020 @10:55AM (#24818256)
I'm pro-lockdown, but I don't know why you're so heavily downvoted. Much of Europe, other than Germany, pretty much utterly botched it.

By excess deaths, the US is doing way better per capita than somewhere like France.

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Re:The pandemic has eroded democracy and respect for human r... by christophilus on Sunday October 18, 2020 @09:09AM (#24817614)
This utopian view of the EU predates COVID. I’m not sure where it comes from.
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Re:The pandemic has eroded democracy and respect for human r... by fakedang on Sunday October 18, 2020 @11:57AM (#24818781)
It's mostly because Germany dominates the discourse, and the impression of outsiders towards the EU. Sure, Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, Netherlands and Belgium are miles ahead of the rest of the EU, but the rot begins once you go south. France, Italy, Spain, etc. are so much worse places with the rest of the EU following in the slow decline. Meanwhile, other places such as Poland and Hungary with rising living standards are turning into ultra-conservative shit holes (to speak broadly. Of course, the story in the cities is usually different).
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Re:The pandemic has eroded democracy and respect for human r... by shigawire on Sunday October 18, 2020 @10:21AM (#24818053)
To a thirsty man in the desert, a muddy puddle is an oasis.
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Re:The pandemic has eroded democracy and respect for human r... by whimsicalism on Sunday October 18, 2020 @10:56AM (#24818265)
For many of the things that the EU is looked up to in (for instance, racism), the EU seems more like an oil spill.

The idea that Europe is somehow much less racist than the US, for instance, is laughable.

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Re:The pandemic has eroded democracy and respect for human r... by sharatvir on Sunday October 18, 2020 @12:20PM (#24818933)
Got to agree with this. You see European football fans make dehumanizing monkey sounds and gestures at black and brown players. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in American sports.
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Re:The pandemic has eroded democracy and respect for human r... by watwut on Sunday October 18, 2020 @09:58AM (#24817915)
Why do you think EU is testing less then USA?
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Re:The pandemic has eroded democracy and respect for human r... by nemo44x on Sunday October 18, 2020 @10:00AM (#24817929)
I don’t think right now. But earlier in the year. I explained in my comment the EU has fewer confirmed cases but more deaths. This implies that either EU citizens are more likely to die from COVID or that they didn’t test as much earlier. Today their confirmed numbers are massive and I suspect it’s because they are testing more than ever.
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Re:The pandemic has eroded democracy and respect for human r... by whimsicalism on Monday October 19, 2020 @05:08PM (#24831052)
> EU citizens are more likely to die from COVID or that they didn’t test as much earlier

Both are true -> EU citizens are much older.

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